A/N:
Aighty here's part two of the chapter. Enjoy, review, like, share. You know what to do.
Also, still looking for a BETA.
Cheers.
One Hunt after the Next PT2
Naruko was walking through the streets, returning from the council, when she saw a child being thrown out of a store. It was a young girl. The odd thing was that she had a cat tail and ears, she saw the eyes, and they were slit like those of a cat. The owner threw a mask at her. It was an ANBU style mask with cat features on it.
"Leave here now, you pest."
Naruko narrowed her eyes. She knew that tone all too well. The girl was an outcast, a pariah. She walked over to the crowd. The civilians were staring at the girl with pity, distain, disgust and hate. She saw them step back.
"What is it?" the girl asked.
"Why are you staring at me like that?"
Naruko stepped in and walked to the girl and looked at her with a smile. The girl looked up in confusion. Naruko pulled her ANBU mask out of her sleeve. It looked like a toy, but it was made out of a metal that was only found on the island of the Heavenly Alliance. She put it back and smiled at the girl. After that she walked away. She knew the girl would follow her. As soon as she turned the corner she sensed the girl. Naruko headed for the Ichiraku Ramen Stand. She sat down and ordered her usual plus an extra bowl of the Rabbit Ramen. She was sensing the girl around the corner. She felt her eyes on her back. Naruko had made a clone straight after she turned the corner. That clone was now approaching her.
"Come on little one. There is some food for you. Eat up."
The clone escorted the girl to the stand and the girl sat down and stared at the bowl. The clone dispelled and Naruko kept her attention on the girl while eating. After she was done with two more bowls she looked at the girl.
"Eat up, it's on me."
The girl stared at her.
"Why are you doing this? Plus I can't eat here. The owner will just kick me out, like everyone else."
The last words were spoken in a whisper, but Naruko still heard it.
"First of, these people here are some of very few who do not judge. They make their own opinions on matters. So don't worry about things that have not yet happened. That kind of thinking will end up leaving you starved on the street. As for why…"
Naruko revealed her fox ears and eyes and looked back at the dumbfounded girl.
"We are the same…" the girl said.
"Yes, I know your pain. So I will help you. Now eat up."
The girl dug in and soon the bowl was empty. Naruko ordered more and continued eating herself. After half an hour the girl was full and Naruko stopped eating as well. She paid and walked off. As expected the girl continued to follow her. Naruko walked through a crowded merchant's street. They glared at Naruko but ignored the girl. Naruko walked on as if nothing was happening, until the girl cried out in pain, She spun around and saw some kids throwing rocks at the girl. She created a Shadow Clone and had it escort the girl to the estate. Naruko turned to the children, crushing the rock in her fist. She had caught it when she had switched places with the girl. The children gulped and took a step back. They then started to throw rocks at her, but she dodged and caught them midair. After that she threw them back hitting them square in the chest. She picked them up and shunshined away. She hung them up on a high pole. When they woke up they started screaming and Naruko left. She shunshined to the estate and entered. She found the girl with the clone in the pavilion. The clone dispelled and Naruko sat down,
"So tell me, what is your name?"
"My name is Amii. I come from the Hoshoku-sei Neko Clan from Kirigakure no Sato."
"So what is a civilian girl doing here in Hi no Kuni, much less Konoha, without her parents?"
"My clan got captured by the Mizukage, because of our Kekkai Genkai. He thinks us lesser humans and is murdering all who have special abilities."
"I see. Kin!"
The girl came running and stooped in front of the two.
"Make sure she is healthy and get her some new clothes. Make a room ready for her and have Zabuza, Meizu, Gozu and Haku come to my study immediately. Amii-chan, go with her. I will get your clan to safety. Please stay in the estate you will be safe here."
"Th… Thank you."
Naruko nodded and left. She went to her study and got out maps and scrolls. Everything she had on the Village Hidden in the Mist. After a few minutes Zabuza and the others entered the study after knocking.
"Good day, Naruko-sama. May I ask why you called us here?" Haku asked.
"I need you to accompany me on a mission. Zabuza. I trust you still have all of your knowledge on the Mist. I want you to add everything of importance to this map. Hospitals, prisons, Death Row, academy everything. Haku, I need you to give a guest a medical checkup. Gozu, Meizu, you are coming with me. Oh and Zabuza. Please do your task in your room, please. My study is still a place I want to be off limits."
"Hai, Naruko-sama."
Naruko headed to the tower. Gozu and Meizu were flanking her. Naruko was still in her Royal Garbs so she decided to walk. The civilians glared at her, but they didn't dare do anything else because of Gozu and Meizu. The two had made quite the names for themselves among the civilian population. They never killed, but whoever was on the receiving end of their work, was left with a long stay in hospital. After a few minutes they made it to the Hokage Tower. Naruko walked in and went to the secretary.
"Good day Riah-nee-chan," she greeted the woman.
"Hello Naru, what brings you here?"
"I need to talk with Baa-chan about a mission. It is very important. Do you know if she is free?"
"She should be finishing up a meeting with an important client right now. I think you are good to go in. Have a nice day."
"You too."
Naruko walked to the office. She walked into the office and saw Tsunade talk with a voluptuous red haired woman. The auburn hair nearly touched the ground and her blue long sleeved dress was filled out quite nicely. Naruko contemplated on going back outside but decided against it.
"Excuse me, Hokage-sama, but Emori Riah said it would be okay to come in. Am I disturbing?"
"No not at all Naru-chan. In fact this makes things a lot easier. Naru, let me introduce to you, Terumi Mei, leader of the rebels of Kiri. She has come here to ask for aid of our village."
"Hokage-sama, surely you are joking if you are going to have this girl accompany me and help us in our fight."
"Looks can be deceiving, Terumi-san. I already am an S-class shinobi wanted in the Bingo Book with a combined bounty of over a hundred million Ryo. Twenty five million in your country alone. I am a Jonin of the Leaf and while I may be young, I have the experience of multiple lifetimes. You may know me as the Crimson Huntress."
Terumi Mei took a step back. The girl had not moved and kept her monotonous voice on one volume. That girl was not one to be underestimated. And if she really was the Huntress, the war would be over soon.
"I'll take her."
"Very good. Naru, I am sure you have heard about the civil war going on in Kiri. Terumi-san has asked us to aid in any way we can and help the rebels come out on top. This will be an S-Rank mission in the Land of Water. You will be under direct command of Terumi-san and her commanders. Do you accept this mission?"
"Yes, though, am I allowed to bring some of my clan to help?"
"Who would you have in mind?"
"Momochi Uzumaki Zabuza, Uzumaki Gozu, Uzumaki Meizu and possibly more, though that would have to be decided spontaneous."
"You are allowed."
"Very well. Uzumaki-san, we will leave tomorrow at dawn."
"Terumi-san, do you have a place to stay? If not, my estate still has a few spare beds."
"Thank you very much, Uzumaki-san. As a matter of fact I did not yet get around to looking for accommodations, so I would be delighted if you would have me stay the night."
"Of course, please follow me. If we hurry we will make it in time for dinner."
The two left and were immediately flanked by Gozu and Meizu.
"Gozu-kun? Meizu-kun? What in the world are you doing here?"
"You know each other I take it."
"Yes," Gozu answered.
"Mei-sama is the leader of the rebels in Kiri. We used to work under her with Zabuza, Haku and Ameyuri. Zabuza decided to get more funds and left Mizu no Kuni and that was about the time we ran into you. He was going to tell you this once his child was born."
"Zabuza and Ameyuri have a child?"
"Yes. I met them on a mission in Nami no Kuni and healed her of her illness. After the mission I adopted them into my clan. Ever since, my clan has been growing steadily. Matter of fact I was going to the Hokage to get permission for a mission to Kiri anyway. I picked up a war orphan not too long ago from the streets here in Konoha and decided to help her. Ah, here we are. Quick rundown of the rules. My bedroom, the study, the library and the armory are strictly off limits. You are free to go through the house but I will assign Dosu as a guard. Please come in."
They entered and went straight to the kitchen. To say the Kiri division of her clan was surprised was an understatement and after a long exchange of stories the food was served. Mei nearly fell out of her chair when she saw Ameyuri. After a nice dinner Naruko went to her study with Zabuza. They went over the map and everything regarding the war. Naruko found out that the Mizukage was a Jinchuuriki so she knew shew would have to save him. She sent everyone to bed and meditated.
The next morning at dawn Mei, Naruko, Zabuza, Gozu, Meizu, Bee, Gaara and Yugito stood at the gates ready to leave. They started running to Mizu no Kuni and after a few days of travel they made it to the camp. Mei's second in command, a man named Ao, showed them their tent and told them to attend the battle meeting in a few hours. Naruko decided to talk about her plan with her clan.
"Alright, gather around. We have two objectives while we are here. Officially we are here to help the rebels win this war, but that is only our cover. We are here to gain another of my kin and we are searching for the remnants of the Hoshoku-sei Neko Clan. I presume you have seen Amii walking around the estate. She is an orphan of this war and I have practically already adopted her as family and we do not abandon family.
Zabuza, you and Mei seem to go back some time I want you to see if you can't get her to send you on a scouting mission with a few you can trust and look for the Neko Clan.
Gozu, Meizu our target is a Jinchuuriki, meaning the only people who have the chance to really stand up to him are Yugito, Gaara, Bee and myself. What we will do is lure him into trap. I will have clones form a perimeter around the four of us. Once we are in position the clones will put up a barrier so the target does not escape. Once the barrier is up I will transport us to the Hunting Realm. There we will have the home field advantage. I am able to manipulate the surroundings and do not use any chakra while doing Jutsu. I want you to summon your tenants and stay ready to fight as I taught you. I will do the same. With four on one the odds are in our favor. From there we will suppress him. I have created a Paralyzing Seal that is powerful enough to paralyze Kurama-kaa-san when she goes all out. I will give you the seal tags as soon as we are in the Hunting Realm. As soon as the seal is on I will start talking with him.
If talking does not work, we will be forced to extract Isobu-sama and reseal him into one of our own. I already have someone in mind and I hope you will let me go through with it, Zabuza, though if you don't I will not hold it against you."
"I understand, Naruko-sama, though how are we going to transport Isobu-sama?" Zabuza asked.
"We will put the target into a near death state and do the transfer back at the estate once the time is right. As for missions coming from our client, do them as quickly and as efficiently as you can. The more time we have to prepare for this the better. I will suggest a strategy that will help us know our enemy."
"We understand the necessity to do this, but aren't you against this endless cycle of creating and extracting?" Gaara asked quietly.
"I am, though in order to end this cycle we have to have all of our kin on our side, Gaara. There are people out there who hunt us, and we cannot protect ourselves and end this horrid cycle with one of us against us. I really hate to do it and become one of them, but sometimes we have to become the very thing we hate, to stop it."
Just then a man with blue hair came in. He was wearing an eyepatch over his right eye.
"The meeting is about to begin. Please follow me to the command tent."
Naruko nodded and they left. The command tent was the largest tent in the center of the camp. In the tent stood Mei with five over people. The man that had escorted them to the tent took his spot to Mei's right, nest to a nervous looking boy.
"All right now that we are all here, I first want to introduce our help from Konoha. These are our very own, Demon Brothers, Gozu and Meizu, the Demon of the Hidden Mist, Momochi Zabuza, Gaara of the Desert, and Yugito of the Clouds, Killer Bee of the Clouds and Konoha's Crimson Huntress, Uzumaki Namikaze Naruko."
Everyone gaped at the group. All of them were rather well known in the Shinobi World. Naruko could smell the fear coming off of the boy behind Mei, She grinned feral and licked her lips.
"Alright so here is the status of how things are as of now. We are at six hundred and forty four able bodied fighters, and twelve squads of six in the perimeter of us to act as sentries. We have two squads doing a scouting run to one of the bases near us. We have many non-fighting personnel in a town near here which is guarded by another two hundred and fifty fighters. So what do you think?"
"Well, we certainly have man power, but numbers alone do not win a battle. I need to know how they fight, what tactics do they use. Do you have that information?"
The people shook their heads.
"No. Okay, I need a map of Mizu no Kuni with all bases of the Mizukage. We are going to do some guerilla attacks."
"Why? We have been successful with the way we fought so far, why should we change it?"
"Because one should never use the same strategy twice. One should let his strategies be determined by the circumstances. As they are always different on every one field of battle ones strategy is always different in every one battle. All warfare is based on deception, this means we need to seem one way and be the opposite. I want you to hold all of your men in the base in the following week. I am going to get the information we need on our foe."
Naruko left and was followed by her clan. She walked through the camp and cooled off.
In the command tent
"And this is the help you promised us, Mei-sama? The girl is delusional."
"No she is not," Ao said.
"Back in my day, we had all the information we could to be as prepared as possible. We were never in one place for long, to avoid dyeing."
"Ao, shut up or I'll kill you," Mei said with a smile.
Ao nodded and kept quiet, wondering what he had said.
"Fact is that the Huntress is a major player in this game and she knows what to do. If she thinks this is what we need to do, then we should follow her advice. And let's not forget that she is an Uzumaki and a Namikaze. It took the combined force of three great nations to take down Uzu, why do you think that was? Obviously the girl already knows the way of her ancestors so I believe she knows what she is doing. I say we follow her advice."
One by one her three generals agreed.
"Ao, I want you to tell them that for the next week, Uzumaki Namikaze Naruko has full command over our forces."
"Yes, ma'am."
Back with Naruko
Naruko was returning to her tent and was laying down on her bed. After a short while, Ao came in.
"Excuse me, Uzumaki-san. I was sent by Mei-sama."
"Please, Naruko is just fine. So what is it you are to tell me? I hope my outburst earlier on didn't offend anybody too much."
"No, I actually agree with you. Anyway, Mei-sama has given you full command over our forces."
"Thank you. That is very good news."
"By the way, we have the map ready you requested with routes of the most regular patrols. It's in the command tent."
Naruko nodded and left her bed. She followed Ao to the command tent where Mei was still standing. She was looking at the map. Naruko joined her and instantly started doing calculations in her head.
'Alright, from the look of things, the rebel town is here… We are here. The village is protected by water all around. The size of the island is beneficial so the forces stationed there have an easy time covering the area. We are on the southernmost part of the main island. Kiri is to the North-North West of us. We are far too close to the village to my liking but this is also rather advantageous. If I move with Gaara and the others to the Eastern Island we could start some guerilla attacks so we may know how the enemy is fighting. If we attack these three outposts the Mizukage will have to send reinforcements to these parts… Then we move northwards along the coast we will draw the enemy away from the village. If we then attack all of the outposts with clones, while we and the rebels attack the village.'
Naruko talked her strategy over with Mei and Mei agreed with it. Naruko walked to her tent and told Zabuza to take two of his choosing and start searching for the Hoshoku-sei Neko Clan. Naruko took the rest of her group and headed to the Eastern Island just of the shore. The journey was uneventful and the made it to the island the morning of the next day. They set up a decoy basecamp and started to scout the island. Luckily there was no military presence. Naruko hunted a few deer and started to make food for her party. She created three thousand clones and sent them to the three closest outposts she had marked for a strike. They had food in piece and a few minutes later Naruko felt a slight sting in her head. Her clones had dispelled and gave her the report.
"Alright my clones have toyed with the outposts and have incapacitated a few of their numbers. Some have infiltrated their ranks. All three outposts have sent a messenger to Kiri asking for reinforcements. We move out in a few hours."
They each went through their own rituals of preparing for a mission. Gozu and Meizu checked their gauntlets, to see if anything needed last minute fixing. Gaara let her sand flow in a thin line spiraling around her. Yugito sharpened her weapons. Bee sharpened his swords. And Naruko was meditating.
When the time was up they left on a burst of speed. They made their way up the coast. Each outpost they hit with only clones, taking a few ninja out and having some clones infiltrate the ranks of their enemy. It took them the smaller part of two hours to cover the entire east coast.
"Good. We will make camp here and sleep. By tomorrow the reinforcements should be on their way."
They set up a small camo and moved out the next morning. Naruko led them to each outpost and created a thousand clones per outpost. After that was done, Naruko went to three of the Eastern Island and made a few decoy camps. Once that was done they b lined it straight back to the rebel base.
At base Naruko immediately went to the command tent, where Ao and Mei along with Chojuro. They saw her coming and turned towards her.
"So have you found out what you need to know?"
"Yes, I have. Our enemy is not well trained. Most of our foes are civilian sympathizers. I have stationed a thousand clones with each of the nine Eastern coastline outposts, they will harass our enemy as soon as I give the word. We will attack two days after that so that we have the least amount of resistance when we take the city. I have set up decoy camps which will draw the outpost's attention away. Our enemy will leave their post and attack with a large force, leaving few to guard the outpost. That is when my clones will attack. Our enemy will hasten back as soon as they realize that they were fooled. By the time the reinforcements will have arrived and they will be forced to battle to regain the outpost. This leads to us engaging only a fraction of the enemy's forces, while we attack as a whole, leaving us with the numerical strength while the enemy is at a numerical weakness. We will attack at dusk when our enemy will be inquiline to sleep. I have had a clone watch the shifts and therefore I know that the shift ends an hour after dusk. This is the base of my strategy. What is your opinion on it? I may be in command, but this is your country and these are your people."
Mei was astounded. This girl, who couldn't be older than thirteen had just done an impossible task. Her strategy seemed solid so far and if she really had done those preparations then Kiri would lack a major amount of their manpower leaving them with relatively few opponents to deal with.
"Your strategy is very impressive, Uzumaki, but you didn't tell us how we will get to the tower. On top of that, how the hell are we going to fight Yagura, he is a Jinchuuriki and has full control of his demon."
"I would prefer you to speak a little more respectful about one of my own, Ao-san. But to answer your question, you need not worry, I, myself, along with Gaara-nee-chan, Bee-nii-san and Yugito-nee-chan will take care of him. Now if you agree Mei-san, I will continue with the second part of my strategy."
In the meantime, all of the generals and higher ranking shinobi had entered the tent. They were now looking at a map of the main island of Mizu no Kuni and a map of Kirigakure no Sato.
"Now as I have explained earlier, a major part of Kiri's forces will be out of the village reinforcing the Eastern outposts and those forces will be too preoccupied to return to the village. Now before I go into the specifics, how many of our forces are proficient enough to maintain Katon and Futon Jutsu for a longer duration."
"We have about a dozen of each of them, but why are you asking?"
"Because they will provide us with our cover. We will use artificial fog banks and screens to hide our movements inside of the village."
"But couldn't we just use our Kirigakure no Jutsu to create mist to cover us?"
"While I agree that the Kirigakure no Jutsu is a great technique to cover oneself, it does have two major disadvantages, which my way does not have. One, the Kirigakure no Jutsu uses chakra, something that can be traced and seen by more experienced shinobi, as the Technique creates artificial mist and is therefore distinguishable from the fog that surrounds the coastal countries. And two the bigger the area is that has to be covered, the more chakra has to be used to maintain the technique. This costs manpower, manpower we lack. The other way we could do it is to go in squads with one or two members proficient at the technique. The downside to this approach would be a continuous use of chakra, making the squads easier to be located and also using the manpower we have inefficiently."
She looked around the tent. The ninja started to see things her way.
"What I intend to do is have our Katon and Futon users out on the water on the Western coast. We have twelve shinobi able to perform Katon Jutsu. I want them stationed in teams of two. Here, here, here, here… Here and here."
She marked the positions on the map.
"Accompanying them will be one Futon user and three Suiton users. The Suiton user will form a triangle perimeter with the base pointed to the coast. The futon users will make wind current to the shore. I assume we have a few people who are capable of the Yoton."
"Yes we have a few who are able to use it."
"Very good, and they are not among the Katon users?"
"No they are not."
"Very good. Now, the Futon users will make a slow wind current to this point. Here will be another Futon user directing the three currents towards the village. The Yoton users will be here, with a handful of Doton users. The Doton users will make a trench as deep as they can. With them we will have an equal number of Suiton users. Suiton and Yoton users will use a technique to bring out a steady amount of mass of their element. The lava will be directed into the trench whilst the water will be aimed at the lava. This will create more steam which will mix with the steam coming from the coast. At the trench there will also be a Futon user who will split the current to here and here. The trench has to be positioned so that the current passes straight over. The last two Futon users will spread the steam so it will cover the entire village. It has to be a breeze, otherwise it will not be effective.
Once that is done, we attack from the East. We attack as a joint force. Kiri is built with two main roads crossing each other in the middle, making four districts. Alpha, Bravo, Charlie and Delta. Charlie and Delta are mostly civilian establishments. Sixty men each should do for both. Bravo has the academy, hospitals and armories. So we will need more men here. I suggest around one hundred and fifty. Alpha is the one where I and my group will attack. Mei will accompany us as well as another hundred men. I suggest placing another two hundred men in hiding in the village center. They can reinforce our forces wherever it is needed. Sixty men should clear the walls and sixty men should stay here in camp in case we have been found out. Is everyone content with this strategy?"
Everyone nodded.
"Good, there is one thing I want to say before we dismiss this meeting. When we attack, we do not kill unless it is absolutely necessary."
The entire tent erupted into shouts of outrage.
"This is preposterous."
"An insult."
"They never showed us any such mercy."
"They slaughtered us like dogs."
Naruko had enough. She blasted the tent with KI and instantly it was filled with silence.
"Yes, they never showed you mercy," She said with a deathly calm voice.
"But you are not them. Do not become them by acting the same way they do. Prove you are better. If you kill them you just prove they were right, do not give them that pleasure. But if you feel I am being unreasonable I offer you the chance to convince me through a friendly spar."
Of course all the people present said they would do it. How hard could a thirteen year old be to beat? They went outside to a practice ring and Naruko stood in the center and waited for everyone to get settled.
"Now here is how it will go. Taijutsu only. No killing or crippling moves. If you move outside of this ring the fight is over. If a blow would have been lethal the fight is over. You win by submission or knockout. No weapons. If anyone comes at me with a weapon I will put that person down with a guaranteed lethal blow."
Naruko stood in the center of the ring. In her Ryu no Esukepu Ken stance and waited. She didn't wait long a few of the younger shinobi charged but were all met with a friendly boot to the face. After a few minutes the rebels gave up.
"If there are no more challengers, we will attack in three days. Prepare your men and tell them what their role is. Mizu no Kuni will be free by the end of this week."
Naruko walked out of the ring and headed to her tent. She made her way through the base and entered it. Her clan could see that she was not in a very good mood and kept some distance, giving her space to cool down. After an hour of meditation Naruko was as calm as she usually was. She got out of her seat and left the tent. She walked around the base and soon ran into Zabuza and to strange looking boys.
"Zabuza, report."
Zabuza bowed and gave his report.
Flashback
Zabuza walked through the base. He was looking for two specific people. He had met them in his first days after joining the rebels. He kept looking around and soon found them. The two were twins. Both had greyish skin completely green eyes and black hair that was cut down to stubbles. Both of them wore black combat boots, the standard Kiri camouflage trousers and sleeveless vests with the same pattern. The two of them were the very last of their clan. Their clan was meant, built and trained for battle. And when the war had ended like the Kaguya, their clan also battled the village and was annihilated. Zabuza had spared the two back then, because they were no older than five years old. For that, the two vowed to follow his every order.
Zabuza shook his head. He didn't have time to walk down Memory Lane. He walked up to the two teens and sat down in front of them. The two looked up and were startled. It was rare for them to be joined by their comrades, because they didn't know how to act or to take part in a moral conversation. The man in front of them looked oddly familiar, but they couldn't put a hammer on it.
"It's been a while, hasn't it? Kengo? Takoyo?"
The two were startled, not only did this man know their names, but he could also tell them apart. And there was only one person alive who was able to do that.
"Zabuza-tou-san!"
They jumped up and jumped in circles around the man. This was so exciting. He had left them after an attack went wrong and told them to stay here until he returned. He had raised and trained them ever since their clan was exterminated.
"You're back! You're back! You're back!" they chanted still jumping around.
"Alright you two, settle down."
They did but they didn't sit down. They were in front of him jumping on the balls of their feet. Zabuza knew they couldn't help it. After seeing the entirety of your family being slowly burnt alive you had to cope somehow. He smiled.
"Alright, I have a nice offer for you."
"Is that."
"Why you."
"Have that."
"Funny looking."
"Sign on."
"Your back?"
Yes, they were very strange. But they were very capable fighters and he found it also quite amusing how they continued each other's sentences after every two or three words.
"Yes it has. I have been saved by a girl and have been adopted into her clan. She has tasked me to find a clan of bloodline holders. If you help me, I am sure she would adopt you into her clan as well."
The amount of cheering was sure to be heard all across the camp. Again they started jumping around him. It took him a while to calm them down but eventually they did.
"Naruko-sama, picked up a war orphan in the streets of Konoha. She is here to pick up the rest of her clan. I am positive that you two can help me find them and if you do that Naruko-sama will surely adopt you into the clan. So are you going to help me? Mei gave Naruko-sama full command of her troops."
"Of course."
"We'll help."
"You, Tou-san."
"Good, I'm looking for the Hoshoku-sei Neko Clan, do you know where I could find them?"
"Yes!"
"A lot of."
"Clan members."
"Were killed."
"But some."
"Are in."
"The village."
"But going."
"By rumors."
"Yagura has."
"Set up."
"Work camps."
"For Bloodline users."
"Like us."
That was a very interesting bit of information. Naruko said she wanted to expand the clan so he had to look around to see if there were Hoshoku-sei Neko Clan members in those camps.
"Do you know where these camps are?"
"Yes!"
"They're all."
"On the northern."
"Most Island."
"Of Mizu."
"No Kuni."
"We can."
"Take you there."
"If you like."
"That would be great. We'll work our way around the island and scout out all of those camps. I will need your help with this. So you in."
"You."
"Bet."
The three headed out and made their way to the northern shore. They made their way across the water. Once they were ashore Zabuza let Kengo and Takoyo take the lead. It didn't take them long to find the first camp.
"Alright. You two. Get in there and look for people with feline features. If you find them or not, it doesn't matter. Once you scouted the entire camp tell a few of the captured that they'll be freed by the end of the week. After you did that you return here and we move on to the next camp. We have to be fast though. I do not know how quickly Naruko-sama will need to prepare the assault."
The two nodded and disappeared into thin air. After a two hour wait for Zabuza, they returned. They continued to move from camp to camp and after a few days they were done. They had found another twenty members of the Hoshoku-sei Neko Clan. They headed back to the rebel base and were intercepted by Naruko just as they entered.
Flashback end
"And that's about it. I hope you are satisfied with the results, Naruko-sama."
"I am very pleased with your work. You two, tell me your names."
"Tekio Kengo."
"Tekio Takoyo."
"Pleasure to meet."
"You Uzumaki-sama."
"We hope."
"You will."
"Allow us to."
"Join your clan."
"With our."
"Kekkai Genkai."
"We would be."
"A great addition."
"To your clan."
"That may be so. Tell me, what abilities you two possess, specifically. Do not lie to me, I will know. And the punishment for trying to do so will be most painful."
The two shivered.
"Our bloodline."
"Allows us to."
"Adapt to survive."
"We change our."
"Genetic coding."
"To adapt."
"Survival strategies."
"To be successful."
"In every environment."
"We can also."
"Become invisible."
"To the eye."
"Off any who."
"Look at us."
"Interesting. Tell me, would you be willing to join the ranks of the Uzumaki. Follow our ways and uphold our customs?"
"Yes."
"We would."
"Be honored."
"Very well. I am hereby accepting you into my clan. Is there anything you would like me to do for you?"
"Yes, there is."
"Please also."
"Accept our."
"Remaining family."
"Into your Clan."
"Do that and."
"We will forever."
"Be in your service."
"I will. Would you like for me to relieve you of the traumatic results of the murder of your clan. I can sense that it has taken quite the toll on your mind. I do not wish to see my family in peril."
"That would."
"Be quite nice."
"If you would."
"Be so kind."
Naruko nodded and tapped the foreheads and crystal sphere formed in both of her hands. She crushed them and smiled at the two teenagers. They looked at each other.
"Did it work, Naruko-sama?" they both said at the same time.
They looked at each in shock.
"Kunai. Fins. Flight. Nocturnal."
The two boys cheered after a few more random words. Naruko nodded to them and left to her tent.
The next two days were spent preparing, meditating, training and strategizing. Naruko had made sure that Yagura had in deed sent a majority of his forces to relieve the troops being harassed by rebels in the east. Naruko brought the news to Mei and set the plan into its final motion. Tomorrow she would gain yet another member of her kin.
The following day the operation began. At dawn the fire users and the teams headed off to the coast. It took them half an hour to prepare. Naruko was there and oversaw the preparation of every station of the plan. She then went back and talked the generals over the single stages of the plan. Soon the time came to start moving out. Naruko and her group spearheaded and the rest followed. Naruko gave the signal and they charged. Naruko and her platoon raced to the tower.
"Split up, cover the ground. Mei-san, Ao-san, Chojuro-san follow me."
She entered the tower with her group. They made it to the main office, unsurprisingly Yagura was expecting them. Naruto discreetly made eight clones who in a blur made hand seals.
"You five stay outside."
"Uzumaki Fuinjutsu: Kyukyoku no Shoheki Chanba!"
The room's walls, floor and ceiling glowed. Yagura lifted an eyebrow.
"Some petty imaginations will not keep me here. There is a reason I am the Mizukage after all."
"Exactly which is why we are no longer in the realm of the living."
Hunting Realm
The scenery changed and they stood on a wide open plain. Yagura blinked a few times and looked around.
"Where am I? Who are you? What have you done to my village?"
Yagura was getting rather worked up. Naruko kept a close eye on him.
"Calm yourself. You are in the Realm of the Hunt. We have sent you here to talk as to why exactly you tried to exterminate the entirety of you bloodline clans."
"What!? Are you implying I started a mass murder amongst my people?"
Yagura was getting very angry.
"Calm yourself. Let me show you."
She made a Shadow Clone and it walked over to the man.
"Put your hand on its head and then squeeze the skull until the clone disperses."
Yagura did and as soon as the clone dispersed his eyes went wide.
"By Kami… How, I do not remember any of that."
"Tell me. What do you remember?"
"Well I was in my office when out of the blue, an orange mask appeared out of the wall. I saw a red eye… After that nothing."
Naruko growled.
"Uchiha Madara. That stinking mongrel. Tell me, would you be willing to join my clan to protect our kin from the likes of those like Uchiha Madara."
"Would we be hunting him down?"
"Of course. I have a couple of spies and if my hunch is correct they are closer to him then he knows."
"I accept your offer, Miss?"
"Uzumaki Namikaze Naruko Musume no Kyuubi. I also know who you are. Yondaime Mizukage Yagura no Chigiri no Sato. Jinchuuriki host of the Three Tailed Turtle, Isobu-sama."
"How did you?"
"I am the daughter of the Queen of Demons. Heiress to the Throne of Demons. I know because there are still some who believe in you. You can still make sure your village comes out strong. You know what to do."
"Yes. I will resign as Mizukage. Terumi Mei should be a good successor going by those memories you gave me. So what is it you want to with me?"
"I know you have full control of your tenant's powers. I wish for you to switch with him for a while."
"What is it you want with me?"
"Isobu-sama, it is time for the title to move on. I would like for you to adopt your jailor as your heir. It would help the both of us quite a bit."
"I will. You do not need to explain any further. The fact that Kurama and Matabi haven't killed you speaks volumes."
Yagura blinked and looked at Naruko in disbelief.
"He just announced me heir to the Throne of Waters. I assume all of you have been announced heirs as well."
"That is correct."
Real world
The clones put down the barrier and dispelled. Meizu, Goku, Mei, Ao and Chojuro came into the room. Naruko stood in front of Yagura. Blocking him from their view.
"So did you kill him?"
"No, I spared him. There was no need for his death. He was being controlled by a man who has displeased me and on multiple occasions caused difficulty in the life of my family."
"Terumi Mei," Yagura said, stepping forth from Naruko's back.
"I apologize for what I did to you and those gifted like you. I resign as Mizukage and am going to leave the village. I put it in your hands, Godaime Mizukage."
Mei did not know what to do. Yagura motioned to the roof.
"Prepare your speech. Naruko-sama, how fast could you gather everyone on the main island?"
"Give me two hours and we'll have everyone here. Most of the shinobi are alive, a few are injured and only four casualties. The civilian sympathizers are all subdued and will be transported here as well. No casualties with them. Mei-san, our forces have not suffered any losses. A few injuries but my clones are currently taking care of those. Yagura help Mei-san with her speech. I will be taking off and freeing the work camps. My clan will accompany me."
Naruko left and sprinted to the work camps.
It took them just over two days to release and take everyone to the village. Naruko and her clan stood on the top of the tower the next day. Mei was just about to start her speech. She walked forward to the banister, wearing the Mizukage robes.
"People of Kiri! The war is finally over. Soon we will have rebuilt out infrastructure. We will gather our strength and work out the mistakes of the past. There will be difficult times ahead of us, but I am certain we will rise from these ruins, standing stronger than before. We have suffered losses on both sides, but we have also come to know each other. We will grow and once again be a glorious village."
Naruko had to suppress a growl. Glorious? What a joke.
"We will begin anew and rid ourselves of the name of Chigiri no Sato. We will be known once again as Kirigakure no Sato. The Village Hidden in the Mist. And as your new Mizukage, I will make sure we stay on our path."
The crowds cheered. Mei returned to the Uzumaki and sighed.
"I thank you for this, Uzumaki-san. If there is anything I can do for you, please just ask."
"Well, you could sign my mission report, and give the payment. Also I heard that there was a man in Mizu no Kuni, who had the powers of Six Tailed Slug. Do you know where I could find him?"
"Why yes… Utakata is the man you are after. I heard he is on one of the Southern islands. But be careful, he is very cautious around strangers."
"Thank you Mei-san. Please sign here and we will be leaving."
Mei nodded and the members of the Uzumaki clan bowed and left. They swiftly made their way to the appointed locations. They were now in the remnants of the old rebel base.
"Alright. We have gained a few more members to our clan. We are steadily growing in number and soon, very soon… We have four islands to cover. We are now at a strength of twenty eight so it is not hard to know what we will do. We go in groups of seven, we each search one island. If you find him, tell him who we are. I do not want you to attack him. If he acts hostile towards you fall back and summon me with this seal, if we don't find him we meet back here after you searched your island. Gaara, Bee, Yugito and myself will lead the groups. Go into your groups quickly."
They split up and started to search their island. After a day Naruko and her group had combed through the entire island and found nothing. They set up camp and waited. The next day Naruko woke up and they headed back to the old rebel base. On the way back she was summoned. In a cloud of smoke she appeared in front of Gaara.
"Gaara-chan, I take it you found our brother?"
"Yes, though he does not seem overly excited to meet a group of strangers."
"Have you tried approaching him by yourself?"
"Yes, but as soon as one of us made a move beyond the tree line, we would be sent back to the shore in some funny bubble. I thought it best to not provoke him unnecessarily until you were here, Naruko-sama."
"Very good. Now, I will go over there, do not follow, but stay here and keep an eye on the area."
Naruko walked out of the tree line and saw the strange bubbles coming towards her. She dodged them with her Shunshin and continued to walk up to the man. She found him standing on a small rise. He stopped making bubbles and looked at her. Naruko sat down and motioned him to do the same.
"What do you want?" he asked with hostility.
"You would be wise to watch your tone with me, brother. I am not known for my pardoning of threats. You should speak calmly and with respect, Utakata-san. Now please sit down and let us talk civilly."
"I do not trust you. If I don't like what you say, I will leave."
"And it is your right to do this. Though know that you would not be left alone. You and me, we are similar in more things than you would imagine. You carry Six. I carry Nine. In my family are also One, Two, Three and Eight."
"So what should that concern me? You play along with the games of humans, of those who condemned us. Why should I care about you and the others?"
"Because we are all being hunted by a group of people who want to steal our blessing. If they find you, they will capture you. Do not underestimate them. If you kill one, there will be one more. Sooner rather than later, you will be caught. They will extract you tenant and kill you and him, both. On the other hand, if you join my clan, we can be safer, and this accursed cycle will end. We will be the top of the food chain and we will not be spat on by the vermin who look down upon us for what we hold. If we get all of our pack together, we can hunt them down and destroy them. I hope we can come to a mutual beneficial arrangement. I believe you do have a thing or two you would like."
"You are correct. I wish not to be troubled by humans. I do not want to do missions and I do not want to be forced into anything."
"I can give you those things, plus the protection of a people who do not judge and do not put their noses where it does not belong. I can offer you the protection of the tribe and a village of our own in some time. All you have to do is join the clan and swear your allegiance to me and me alone. Do you accept these terms?"
"I do… If you swear by your life that my terms will be met."
"I can and you have my word as your kin. Also I would like to talk with your tenant."
"Fine, I will switch with him. Please talk to her, Saiken."
"What is it that you want, Daughter of Kurama?"
"The time has come for the title to be passed on. I would find it very beneficial if you were to adopt you holder to the Throne of the Invertebrates."
"Yes, I have felt it time, though to have the conformation of our lady is very reassuring. I will do as you wish. And I hope to have the company of my brethren soon."
"Of course, Saiken-sama, though could you answer me a question?"
"Speak what is on your mind child."
"When you spoke of my mother you called her your lady. What did that mean?"
"It is not my place to talk about it. Ask your mother when you are back in the safety of your home. I will switch back now, it has been a pleasure, Hime."
As with Yagura, Utakata's eyes went wide in surprise.
"It would seem I have just been adopted into the demon kind."
"Yes, as have all of us who are in the clan. Tell me, now that you are part of my clan. How far will you go, to secure the safety of its members?"
"While I may prefer the solitude over too much interaction with people, I will do all I can to protect our clan and its members."
"Good, that is exactly what I wanted to hear. Now please accompany me to our home. We will stay at the old rebel base overnight. Then we will head out to the Leaf and initiate you into our clan."
They walked to the outpost where the others had already started to make food. The next day, they headed out to the Leaf Village. At the village gates, they were swarmed by ANBU. Naruko acted fast and created ten Shadow Clones, who immediately encircled her clan. The ANBU tensed, they knew of the ferociousness the girl protected people.
"Stand down. These people are under the protection of the Uzumaki, harm them and you will suffer the same. Now I want an appointment with Lady Tsunade. It would be best you move now."
The ANBU looked at each other and left.
"Kamizuki Izumo, Hagane Kotetsu. I would like to request the documents to grant people under clan protection access into the village. Thank you. Have a nice day you two. Here have some of my rabbit filets. It's really good."
She waved for her group to follow her and headed for the Hokage Tower. The secretary saw her enter and waved her straight through. They entered the office and looked at a very annoyed Tsunade.
"Naruko. Why is it that every time you come into this office I get a head ache before I even know what you did?"
"Because as village leader you have to take care of paperwork which increases in amount with every action done by the people under you. As I am a juggernaut of stamina, reserves and endurance and so I can take a multitude of D-rank missions while still being able to do higher ranking missions. Therefore I am a constant source of paperwork for you and as such you get more paperwork with my name on it than with the standard shinobi of my age group and many older shinobi as well."
"Yes… Though I suppose all those D-ranks do give you some nice spending money."
"It does, but we'll have that later. Here is my report and I need the papers to adopt twenty three more members to my clan."
"Here you go. By the way, Jiraiya was here a few hours ago, he was rather excited about something and he was looking for you."
"I will see to it once I am done here. Zabuza, take them to the estate, I will follow soon."
"Yes, Naruko-sama."
The room cleared and soon Naruko and Tsunade were left.
"It seems you have grown quiet remarkably, Naru. Your clan is growing steadily and you are gaining more and more political power. There is a multitude of countries and political figures who speak very highly of you. So then why are you here?"
"I have a gift for you, Hokage-sama."
She got out a large glass bottle filled with a reddish liquid.
"Here is a specialty of mine. I make it myself. It's an ancient recipe from a different realm. I call it Spiced Blood Wine. It'll kick the right spot for that you have my guarantee."
She handed the bottle to Tsunade. Tsunade nodded and waved Naruko off. Naruko left and went straight to her clan. She noticed that the Mansion was becoming to be crowded. She needed to expand the housing capabilities. She made an army of clones and sent it to a stone quarrying the village. T They would start getting raw materials and bring that back to the mansion. She would start building as soon as they arrived. In the meantime she would put the adoption seal on her new family.
It took her an hour before everyone was marked. The first few shipments of stone had already arrived and some clones were already starting to build some more quarters. Naruko was overseeing the work, when Jiraiya popped in, only to be bombarded with a multitude of projectiles. After a few minutes Naruko shut them down and made a few clones to refill the seals. She waved Jiraiya over to her and had him sit down next to her.
"You know Jiraiya-sama, it is always amusing to see you try and sneak into my home. But every time you try it, you nearly get killed, yet you try again and again. I do not know if you do it for fun, or if you are doing it to train and quite frankly it is none of my concern. What is my concern however is the constant harassment I have to deal with because of these incidents? Please stop it and use the front gate from now on. Now, I have been told you were looking for me earlier."
"Yes. Naru, I found her."
"Where is she?"
"In the northern parts of the Land of Birds. About two days in. The entrance is an abandoned fisher village near a lake. There is only one entrance as to what I could find, but there are several safe rooms. I hope you find your family."
"Thank you, Jiraiya-sama. May I ask a favor of you?"
"Go ahead Naru."
"I would like you to accompany me and the clan when we go out to retrieve her. Would you do this for me?"
"Of course, I'll go talk with Tsunade right away. I'll come back tomorrow at dawn."
"Thank you, Kyofu."
Jiraiya nodded and left. Naruko got up as well and decided to go out for a stroll in the village. She walked along the main road. As she walked around she ran into Shikamaru.
"Oh hey Naruko. Sorry I bumped into you there. I didn't see you. So how's it been?"
"It's been quite alright Shikamaru."
"That's nice to know. I haven't seen you around that much lately.
"Yes, I was quite busy. And I am heading out again tomorrow."
"Wow… And I thought a Chunin was being pushed a lot. Hey you wanna hang out?"
"I wouldn't mind spending time with you. I was just heading to a quiet place in the village, would you like to join me."
"Sure thing. So where are we headed?"
"Just follow me, you'll see. So how have you been since the promotion?"
"Too busy. Being Chunin is such a pain. I have at least two missions a day. And I have to do all the paperwork. On top of that I am supposed to help Asuma with Squad Ten. It's such a drag."
"Well what did you think would happen when you became a ninja? To live freely, wander the lands with no worries?"
"…"
"I see. Well anyway, this way."
They walked through the village to the Hokage Monument. They followed a small tread path to the top. Once they arrived they sat down on top of the Fourths head. Naruko made a clone to gather wood.
"So Shikamaru… Besides having too much work on your hands… How has it been?"
Shikamaru looked at her. He could sense she was bothered by something otherwise she wouldn't be so talkative. He thought back to what he had learned from Kiba, Hinata and Shino.
'I remember. Naruko is someone who has a very hard time trusting people. So when she told us what she holds and what her family is, she opened herself up more than ever… I really don't want her to think that we do not care or do not want to understand. We are her friends, I am her friend. She can trust us, she can trust me.'
"Listen Naruko. I really don't care if you hold a demon or not. Frankly it is too troublesome. I just want you to know that you can trust me, alright?"
He didn't know why he was relieved seeing her ease up. He looked at her.
'Wow… Her eyes are really beautiful… Wait! Where the hell did that come from? Troublesome blond.'
"You say something, Shikamaru?"
"What? Me? No?"
Just then the clone came back. It dispelled and Naruko built the fire and started to fry some meat. While she was doing that she was thinking back to the day she had revealed almost everything about herself.
Flashback
Naruko was lying in bed. It was starting to get darker outside. She was organizing the events of the last few days. She had gained six new clan members and had been promoted. She made sure to get missions that would be sure to make her well known across the Elemental Nations. And now in a few minutes one of her clan would knock on the door and tell her it was time to get ready. Then she would be dining outside with those she had come to call friends and tell them she was not like them. She knew it had to be done, but she also knew that some might not take the news as well as others. Just then she heard a knock on the door.
"Excuse me, Naruko-sama." Came the voice of Kin from the outside.
"I was supposed to get you up now so you can get ready."
"Thank you Kin. I will be down shortly."
Naruko got up and went to her cupboard. She put her top on and her shinobi pants. She stretched and walked outside. Ameyuri had outdone herself with the food. There was enough food to fill the entire tribe, clan and a multitude of guests. She took a deep breath and walked to the gate. She didn't have to wait too long for the first guests to arrive. One by one they arrived and soon all of them were there. They gathered around the large table and started eating. After half an hour Naruko stood up and everyone stopped eating and looked at her.
"Friends, Family… I thank you for being here today. I hope the food is to your satisfaction. But let us leave that aside for the moment. I have called you here today to talk to you about me. I know I have not been the most outgoing person, which is why I have called you here. I want to tell you about the things that lurk under the surface. Before I begin I must ask you to make a decision. What I am about to tell you about my life is protected by a lwa that secured by an S-class secrecy level, meaning you will be killed if you talk about it. Only I and the Hokage are allowed to tell you of it. So before I start. Are there any of you, who would rather not carry the burden of such a secret?"
There was some murmuring, but to Naruko's relief, no one left.
"If this is your decision, I ask you to not interrupt me, until I am finished."
She took a deep breath and started.
"My Name is Uzumaki Namikaze Naruko no Hanyou. I am the daughter of Uzumaki Kushina, of the Village Hidden in the Whirling Tides. And to Namikaze Minato of the Village Hidden in the Leaves. Due to my heritage I was given the maiden name of my mother to be protected from those who called my father an enemy. On the day of my birth, October Tenth, thirteen years ago, the Kyuubi no Yoko attacked the village. The Hokage back then was Namikaze Minato, my father. He was an excellent Shinobi and fought bravely, however, there is no way for a mortal to kill a demon lord. So the Hokage had to come up with a different approach.
The strategy he came up with was a disgrace to the title of father, but the epitome of the title of Hokage. He sealed the demon into a child that was born just a few hours ago. He sealed the demon into me, his own daughter. My mother died during child birth and my father left me because of the consequences he had to suffer for using the only seal able to seal the demon lord. He had to pay with his life and left me alone in this realm. The Sandaime was reinstated and announced my status as a demon container to the council. The name of my kind is Jinchuuriki.
We Jinchuuriki have to suffer through the entirety of our lives. People do not trust us for what we hold. They fear the demon might break out, thus releasing new carnage. So we are beaten, cast aside and ignored. I myself lived on the streets since I was four years old. I was beaten out of the orphanage. Every day for me was a struggle to survive. But those experiences only taught me.
Ever since I knew how to crawl I knew everyone shunned me. I forged a mask to make myself seem harmless. Still I was starved out for days at a time, was given the drainage water from after the washing and cleaning had been done, to drink. If a matron was having a bad day they would just kick me around for the fun of it. I was never allowed to play with the other kids. I was abused, verbally, emotionally, physically and mentally. Then when they kicked me out on the street things turned from worst to worse.
I was given a small allowance by some ANBU but I could never afford much of anything. I was forced to eat things I scavenged from the garbage. I had to fight with strays and rats over moldy meats to survive. I lived in the gutters, I was chased multiple times daily by mobs of villagers and often times Shinobi as well. My birthday was always the most dangerous day. The Kyuubi festival which they all enjoy so much. At nights I could never come to rest. Many Shinobi and villagers would be doing coordinated hunts, destroying the apartment Jiji and some of the ANBU had given me. They would set it ablaze and keep on looking for me. They called it the Fox Hunt.
Then one day, on one of those mob chases I was cornered and beaten to an inch of my life and I was then dragged away to an old abandoned warehouse. There I was tortured and beaten for hours. After they were finally done one of them decided it would be a waste to 'not have used me adequately' and proceeded to try and rape me. Before he could however, a man saved me. He killed all who were in the warehouse and took me away to a safe place. He washed me and put me to bed. The next morning I awoke feeling better than ever before. I found out I had a clan once and that I had protectors who were prohibited to do their duty because of the council. But now they had had enough, they took me in and they trained me.
After that day I cut my ties to my old mask and forged a new one. The result of that mask was Shulmah. She had all the skills and characteristics I have, with the exception of a family. She fought for herself and followed her own creed, her own code, her own set of rules and ideals. Then when she started to see that there were people who cared for her, she retreated back into my mind giving me more control. Now she only comes out when I am angered or in a hopeless battle.
Now you know who I am. Please tell me if you would like to know anything else."
Silence. Silence and regret. Silence for being too taken by surprise to react. Regret for not having done anything, even though they saw the girls treatment, the few times they saw her in the village. Neji was the first to stand and walk over to her. He bowed to her.
"What you told me that day in our battle, I understand it now. I thank you, and apologize for not having taken you seriously."
Next came Shikamaru.
"I know I'm not the best at these kind of things, but what the heck?"
He hugged her.
"Thanks for keeping him at bay."
And so one by one they said their parts and then left. Naruko didn't know what to think and decided to go for a long run around the village.
Flashback end
"Uko? Naruko? Hello..? Naruko?"
"Huh? Oh sorry Shikamaru, what were you saying?"
"I said the meat is starting to burn."
Naruko reacted fast as lightning and got the meat off of the pan and on to the plates.
"Sorry about that Shikamaru, I kind of was gone there for a bit."
"It's okay. Thanks for this by the way."
"Your welcome. So how's the view? I always go here to get away of things. It always calms me down. You forget everything up here. Up here it's just you and your thoughts."
Naruko finished her food and did some Yoga. Shikamaru was stopped mid bite as he watched the girl do bends and movements he thought impossible with the human body.
"Wow."
"Yeah it took me quite a while to be this flexible."
Naruko was bent over backwards her hands and feet touching. She lifted her right leg and brought it over to the other side as far as she could and then followed with her left. She then lowered herself just over the floor and stayed there for a few moments. Then she lifted herself up and brought her body into a sitting position and sat down again. Shikamaru had forgotten his food completely and was sporting a very light blush. Naruko started to reseal everything and took the other plat when Shikamaru was done. They said there good byes and left. Naruko went straight to her mansion and went to bed.
The next morning Naruko got up. She could feel how tense the clan was. She had told them before going to bed, of what was going to happen. As Ameyuri was nearing the end of her pregnancy, she had Haku stay with her, as well as the Neko Clan and Kengo and Takoyo. The rest of them headed out to the gates where Jiraiya was already waiting for them.
"So, you ready?"
"Yes. It is time I have a serious talk with that pedophilic teammate of yours."
They headed out running at top speed. Every now and then Naruko would make a couple of clones to gather herbs. After a few days of running, they had finally reached the village. Narukos clones had caught up to them. They channeled their chakra into them lifting them up with it. The herbs turned into a liquid. Naruko scooped the liquid up and added water to the bowl.
"Drink this, it will replenish your chakra and enhance your senses for a few hours."
They did and soon felt as if they had just gotten up.
"So what's the plan?" Jiraiya asked.
"Have you ever heard the legend of the Immortals? It was a group of warriors from another realm. They were so vast in numbers, no matter how many were slain, those that fell would be replaced almost instantly. They would not make a sound. They would march towards you and not make a sound. I use the same strategy, only I make noise. Tajo Kage Bushin no Jutsu!"
In a cloud of smoke Naruko multiplied to five thousand, leaving her companions speechless.
"Gaki, if you can use this number of clones, why the hell did you want us here for?!"
"Because, Kyofu, these are normal clones. I know I could make more, but I wanted to have you all here for when they dispel. I will not make more clones. Their job is to take care of the initial defenses and to weaken our enemy. We are the ones who kill those stronger."
They nodded. The clones and Naruko did four hand signs and they stood in their Roman style armor.
"We move as a unit. Phalanx. We split up at every new corridor. Always split into equal groups. Move out."
"AHOO!"
The clones moved into the underground base, their shields in front and to the sides. The rows on the inside had their shields on top covering their heads. It didn't take long for the first traps to go off and seconds later the first clone dispelled and was replace in the formation. Naruko started a map so that they wouldn't get lost. After half an hour walking, fighting, setting off traps and dying, the last clone dispelled being killed be explosive tags. They were now standing in a large arena. They were surrounded by a great many of Orochimaru's experiments.
"We are here for Uzumaki Karin. Stand down and bring us to her and you will live. Resist, and you shall be forever hunted in the next world."
Unfortunately for them, they attacked. Naruko, Jiraiya and their group made swift work of them. Naruko made a few clones who went to work sealing the bodies after stripping them. Naruko and the others continued their search. Naruko walked through the laboratory when she heard a whimper. She walked around one of the many work stations. She looked around the corner and saw a girl about her age holding her knees to her chest. Naruko walked up to her. She periodically flared her chakra a little, trying to feel the girl. However she could not feel her chakra. When she was in front of her she took in her appearance. The girl was definitely an Uzumaki. Her life force, fair skin and hair were a definite telltale sign. But was she the one she was looking for.
"Are you Uzumaki Karin?"
The girl looked up at the strange figure. She could tell that it was a girl, maybe her age, but she seemed a lot older. Her armor was also something she had never seen before. But the fact that she knew who she was, unsettled her.
"Can you understand me?" Naruko asked.
She studied the girl. She looked frightened. Naruko took her helmet off and knelt down in front of the girl.
"My name is Uzumaki Namikaze Naruko. I was sent here by a cousin of mine. Uzumaki Tayuya."
The girl looked at her. Naruko could see the hope in the girl's eyes.
"So are you Uzumaki Karin."
"Y… Yes, I am," she replied.
"Good. We are here to take you home. Your sister is here as well… I'll take you to her."
She got up and put her helmet back on. She walked back to the arena. The others were already waiting for her. The moment Tayuya saw Karin she rushed at her.
"Karin!" she cried.
She rushed to the girl and embraced her in a hug. Karin was also speechless. She hugged her sister back tightly. The two were crying tears of joy. Naruko let them have their space.
She pulled the others back and had them stand guard at the entrances. Naruko had a look around the arena, found there were numerous cells where death lingered. She entered on of them and found the remnants of a body. The person had tried to tunnel his way out but was attacked and then ripped apart by something. She checked the other cells and they all had the same story.
She walked back to the center of the arena and looked at the two girls. They looked at her.
"Our work here is done. We will set up camp outside. I found something in some cells here and going by the bodies we did not kill the cause yet."
"Triala…" Karin muttered.
"Triala?"
"One of Orochimaru's more unstable experiments. He tried combining human DNA with those of animals. The result was a complete loss of self. She attacked anything at the slightest provocation. We tried to control her but failed. She is still somewhere in the complex."
"Is there a chance she might be able to be convinced to joining us?"
"No. I did the research on her. Her body may have accepted the DNA at first and changed accordingly, but now it is rejecting it. It is torture for her, as her body is slowly degenerating and splitting apart. She is dying."
"I see."
Naruko was grinning. She walked out of the complex. They set up their camp just outside of the entrance. Naruko created another army of clones.
"Search and Capture."
That was all she said. The clones rushed into the complex.
"Jiraiya-sama. I would like you to accompany me when she is found."
"And why would you want me there? You can take care of yourself."
"Because while I may be rather adept and talented in the Sealing Arts, I am far from being a master."
Jiraiya gave her a blank look.
"Gaki, you cracked the Cursed Seal of Orochimaru and have set up Trap Seals that have successfully kept me off of your estate and out of some of the rooms in the house. I think you have more than earned the title of master. But if you wish I will come along and give you a second opinion."
"That would be very nice. Thank you."
As they waited Naruko prepared some food. After a while some of her clones were dispelled by being torn in half.
"Found you," Naruko grinned wildly.
"It seems my clones have found our target. Jiraiya-sama, if you would follow me."
Jiraiya got up and followed the young girl. As they walked through the complex Naruko was giving status reports.
"She is tearing through my clones by the dozen. She seems to be working only on instinct. Jiraiya, whatever happens, it will stay here inside of this complex. If I hear even a whisper of what has transpired here, I will make sure you will have no one to pass on your legacy."
Jiraiya nodded nervously and swore not to say a thing. As they walked on they could hear growls and snarls coming from ahead. They hurried to the source and found something quite astonishing. Narukos clones had herded the target into an empty storage room plated with metal. They were attempting to subdue the target with a Paralysis Seal. However they were torn apart before they could even get close. Triala was snarling viciously. Naruko snarled back.
"Jiraiya-sama, seal off the exit. She just challenged me to an Alpha Challenge."
"A 'What Now' challenge?"
"An Alpha Challenge. Us both having animalistic traits, we also stick to the customs of the animal kingdom. If two or more predators are fighting each other an Alpha Challenge can be made. There are very few rules, but it is what the defeated has to do what the dangerous part of an Alpha Challenge. The one who surrenders is a slave for life, with no exception. Everything that is tied to the defeated are automatically owned by the victor. In short this is a winner takes all match. One that is forbidden to be declined."
Jiraiya gasped. He took in the form in front of him. Triala looked to be in pain. She was staring at Naruko with murderous intent. She truly looked like a humanoid animal. If he had to hazard a guess he would say his old team mate fused wolf DNA with hers.
"Okay. Are you sure you can do it?"
"Yes, I can defeat her. Kurama-kaa-san taught me how to fight these battles."
"Fine then."
Jiraiya sealed off the exit and put himself in a protective barrier inside of the room so he could watch.
"I hope for your sake that you can withstand Killing Intent."
"Gaki, I've fought in the Third Great War. I think I can handle a little KI."
"Suit yourself."
Naruko turned to her opponent. Her demeanor became cold. She changed into her true form. Her eyes turned red with slit pupils. Her facial features grew more animalistic. She dropped to all fours and waited. Triala charged. Naruko dodged and started to swipe at her with her claws. In his corner Jiraiya was breathing a little harder than he expected, the KI was insane. The battle continued for a while until Naruko had Triala on her back with her throat between her jaws.
Triala started a series of wheels. She had surrendered. Naruko transformed back and told her to sit still. She then proceeded to heal her new slave. Triala would keep her body and her mind, but her body would not be deteriorating anymore.
"I apologize for my ignorance, Naruko-sama."
"You are not at fault here, Triala. But we will honor our ways and you are now bound to me for life. Follow me, it is time to return home."
The travelled back to the Hidden Leaf. The journey was an eventful and after a few days travel the stood in front of the gates. They entered the village and went to the mansion. Once they arrived they all went to their rooms to rest.
Jutsu:
Ninjutsu
Kirigakure no Jutsu = Hiding in Mist Technique
Yoton = Lava Release
Ryu no Esukepu Ken = Escaping Fist of the Dragon
Tajo Kage Bushin no Jutsu = Multiple Shadow Clone Technique
Fuinjutsu
Uzumaki Fuinjutsu: Kyukyoku no Shoheki Chanba = Uzumaki Fuinjutsu: Ultimate Barrier Chamber
A/N
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